Category : Site News

I found out that Luna had tshirts for sale so I wanted to order one. In the order I asked that Ashley, Cathy and Andrea sign my shirt. Well today I got my shirt and am proud to say all three wonderful women signed my shirt! Life is good! Thank you ladies!

Update September 23 2018

I realized that I had not posted the portraits I created of Cathy and Andrea who like Ashley are the lifeblood of making things happen at Luna. Sure Eric is the Crazy Professor, but these two help put the rubber to the road. EVERY single company or start up I’ve worked with and for has people like these. Often overlooked and under appreciated, their contribution to this emerging company is undeniable. Rock on ladies, you are more appreciated than can ever be expressed! Next time I visit, dinner and drinks are on me.

“All Knowing Ashley”

“Amazing Andrea”

“Crazy Cathy”

UPDATE August 11 2018

I wasn’t always a commercial photographer. Prior to this wonderful life I was a ‘suit’ a corporate guy in several different industries. Energy, broking, retail, software and entertainment were the majority of my career areas. Yes unlike most I switched industries rather than just positions because I became bored…LOL. But what was common to all of those industries for me was the marketing and PR portions. Every company from the Fortune 100 one I worked for to the smaller ones spent loads of funds on marketing. My positions included being a loading dock forklift driver to the COO of a Fortune 100 company.

So I’m always suspicious of marketing hype. I know firsthand its purpose, to bring in more revenue through increased sales or new customers; or both! So when I read that Eric from Luna Cycle was touting taking care of early adopters who would buy the Sur Ron, I thought to myself “OK another marketing ploy, but good for him.”

I was happily proved so WRONG about Eric’s early adopter promise. He recently released a limited supply of X Controllers for the Sur Ron which was reviewed by Matt Richards. The controller offers many benefits like regenerative braking and charging, increased performance, etc. I respect Matt much like I respect John Holmes(no not THAT one!) and Jackson who have all produced Sur Ron videos. I’ve stated elsewhere on this blog that Jackson’s video of the teardown of the Sur Ron is what pushed me over the edge to get out my credit card and buy a Sur Ron.

Most people who follow my photography blog know that I am an early adopter for lighting gear. NEVER has a company such as Godox supported us early adopters like Eric. All of my lighting gear is produced by Godox and I switched from a US based company I was loyal to for years. As a matter of fact, early adopters are seldom rewarded like Luna Cycle has done:

“Luna will also be announcing some exciting new upgrades which will only be available to people who buys their from us.” TRUE

“Luna customers who bought their Sur-Ron from us can trade in their old controllers for a $220 store credit. After you receive your new sine wave controller simply send your old one back to us and you will receive the credit.” TRUE

What I have experienced with Luna Cycle is that Eric is TRULY supporting the EV segment of this community. Not just with cute marketing slogans and bullshit, but with action. Sure like any new and growing company, especially in an emerging industry there are the same issues all growing companies experience. Supply chain issues, CS issues, employee issues, etc. I’m irritated by what I view as ‘entitlement attitudes’ by some, meaning trying to take a remarkable offer like an actual cash credit for turning in an old controller into ‘hey just take that 220.00 off of the 490.00 price right now’ kind of bullshit. How in the world does anyone expect any company to make a profit off of an already discounted product? Oh perhaps they’ve never owned their own business or been responsible for a company P&L, yeah that must be it. I hear the same shit from photographers when a company makes an incredible advancement in a product. “Oh I’d buy it if you had just made it microwave my gluten free food and also built a washing machine into the strobe that it would do and fold my laundry like my mommy. And have the whole thing weigh less than a pound. I don’t see why you couldn’t do that!”

My bottom line; I will continue to support Luna for as long as I see their business practices and incredible foresight into products elevate the EV industry. And support the honor in which they treat their customers. Why? Because I have never seen or experienced their type of ‘Marketing.’ Amen

Original Post

I try to complete a personal project twice a year to stay sharp and exercise my creativity. I say ‘try’ because often my plans don’t happen due to client work. And as a small business if I don’t work, well I don’t eat so some year’s personal photo projects take a back seat to food. In the past I’ve focused on dance, as you can view on my Conceptual photo page. Tango and ballet have been my focus simply because I love the athleticism and art of dance. I have two long term projects which are currently in their fourth year; “Our Perceptions, Ourselves” and “A Book by Its Cover” which are yet to be released.

In each of these cases I have known the individuals well prior to the shoot, have interacted with them on a regular basis and have befriended each of them. And the photographic elements created illustrate beauty in what I classify as its common form. But for this particular project I wanted to step outside of my own comfort zone and focus the project on people I don’t really know at all. And to capture beauty in a way that some may view as ‘nontraditional’ yet I view as gorgeous in a very different way. Two elements from which I will never vary for personal projects are; my love of visual storytelling and my passion for the subject matter.

Yet unlike my previous projects where I have a passion for the subject matter the talent performs (dance), in this case the subject matter is something I’ve done, riding/racing motorized two wheel vehicles. A huge difference….no one should ever see me dance!

I was drawn to Luna Cycle because I was intrigued with a product they import called the Sur Ron Light Bee which is an electric dirt bike manufactured in China. Luna is the exclusive USA distributor for the Sur Ron. I ended up buying one primarily due to Jackson’s video review of the Sur Ron’s build quality on Luna’s site. I then began to roam through Eric’s site to see more about the company and his products. I became intrigued about Luna Cycle more than the Sur Ron.

I’ve had the privilege to get to know some of the people who I view as geniuses in their fields; Paul C Buff of PCB and Steve Jobs when he worked for NeXT after being canned from Apple. What struck me about Eric from his YouTube videos is he seemed to possess the same drive, passion and determination of those men. And just like those two, he seemed to be a bit odd, out of the norm, the kind of mind and personality it takes to move an industry out from what has always been accepted as what’s ‘right.’

So I wrote an email to Eric giving him my pitch for an editorial photo shoot on the dates I had available and waited…nada. So the day before the final first day of my availability I wrote to him once again. I stated that since I had not heard back from him and airline fares are terrible booking the day before I was not going to make the trip and proposed that we could do it another time if he was interested.

In a very short time thereafter he wrote back to me and apologized for not responding sooner. He offered to cover my flight and lodging costs if I could still make it down to his El Segundo location for the shoot. So I booked my flights for the very next day and off I went on this adventure.

Upon arriving at the Luna Cycle location I recognized the area based on the YouTube videos where the staff and Eric demonstrate the speed of the Sur Ron against other much larger gas bikes. I rang the Nest Video Doorbell and waited….nothing. Yet as soon as I started to walk away I heard the door open and there was Eric. Just as he looks on video, crazy hair, intense eyes and those famous pajama pants, the kind my own kids harangue me about if I leave the house wearing them. After explaining that I really had to pee (I was actually going to search for a place around the outside of his building where I could piss) he offered me a cup of coffee from his way above my pay grade expresso machine. And that’s where the fun started….

As I began to look around the one of two warehouse/factories he operates I was simply blown away at the scale of the building in which we were standing. I really had no concept of what it takes to build or assemble ebikes so it was all new to me. In the middle of what I will call his ebike building is a large sectional couch which Ashley (his business and life partner) told me is where ‘Eric and I hang out’ along with a product photo ‘studio’ where an ebike was placed among some constant lights and a backdrop screen Eric built.

Eric explained to me that his first career was as a chess teacher and that he himself is a Chess Master. He went over his philosophy that ‘talent’ is not what he considers to be the key element in creating exceptional people, but rather hard work separates the wheat from the chaff. I agree with his theory since I’ve known a ton of ‘talented’ people who, because of a lack of effort let their skills go to waste. It was then I realized that just like my experience talking with Paul or Steve, Eric is EASILY distracted. Think “SQUIRREL!” and you’ll get the picture. Although I don’t classify him in the same category as these men, my friend David who is the Principal Horn for the Berlin Philharmonic is also easily distracted. We just call David Squirrel! LOL. I just think it’s the nature of the beast for people of this caliber, or so it seems to me. One of the staff members came over to ask Eric a question and I took that opportunity to fade away to meet other members of his team.

The first man I spoke with was Kyle, another person I recognized from the Luna YouTube videos. I was struck by how tall he is, well over six feet. I say this because as I saw both he and Jackson (who I met later but only briefly) sitting on the Sur Rons and it didn’t appear as tiny as it actually is in real life….odd. He’s responsible for quite a bit of the ebike assembly and testing of the Luna Cycle line. Prior to working at Luna he worked for Specialized and some other bike makers in the Bay Area. One hell of a nice guy who’s also very intelligent, he was a joy to speak with and get to know.

Then there is the logistics area where bikes/parts are prepared for shipment. It was one of my favorite places to shoot while I was there. I was so happy to use my SaberStrip v2.0 for these shots. If it weren’t for that modifier combined with the AD200 it would have been a real bitch to light!

Agustin who is the company’s do it all handyman!

Their kids were hanging out with mom so I had to do a family shot!

“Cut the shit with those fake photo smiles girl! Give me some love!”

Yeah now that’s the kinda smile I like.

She only looks serious….in real life she’s a pure peach….and she likes photography!

And then of course there’s Smudge Ball the company’s mascot. He was closely guarding the batteries!

Venturing across the parking lot to Luna’s other building felt I was going into a whole different world. This is where the actual manufacturing of the batteries and other hardware is conducted. The piece of equipment I was completely enchanted by is their laser cutter. It is massive and occupied a room just by itself and rightfully so. While I was there Eric and his team were cutting ½ inch stainless steel as if it were warm butter cut by a hot knife. This is where I had the opportunity to roam around and find little gems of discarded or in process parts I lit with the AD200 with the Fresnel head attached. And for me this is where the true beauty of a factory lives. “Seeing” through light is wonderful. Even more so that it is in and around epic light….a laser!

Eric kept asking me about the AD200s I was using.

Shoving an AD200 in these to light them from the inside out was fun.

The master as he operates his laser.

Showing Eric Mark’s “Photo Voodoo” where he watches the image fly through the air to my iPad from my 1DXII

The battery room

One of the interesting parts of this trip was discovering that Eric and Ashley share a very similar life path as I do with my partner Tracy. We both work in the very same industry, work together and live together. I don’t know many other (none actually) couples who can share time 24/7 without a homicide occuring! Oh sure just like me and T, Eric and Ash have ‘their moments.’ It just would not be natural to not, now would it? I consider them the Ying to my Yang. An older white guy with a young Asian gal versus and older Asian guy with a young white gal! Hahahahahaha!!!!!

And finally it would not be a Mark project without portraits.

Eric relaxing in his office playing chess on his PC.

What I discovered during this project is Eric has created a segment in the ebike market that has the potential to turn the market upside-down. Because of Eric’s innovation and ability to execute ideas into actionable forward thinking products he may become the leader in the market. I simply say ‘may’ because there are many other factors which come into play, as Steve or Paul can attest. Unlike Apple and their widely accepted consumer products, the ebike market is not a segment every person will want to join, it is a more specific market like Paul’s lighting segment. But just as Steve created the iPhone and Paul the monolight, Eric has the capability to create a never before seen ‘thing’ in the ebike market that we could not imagine, but afterward cannot imagine living without. Sounds familiar eh?

But in my mind the raw elements are there, an innovative mind, irreverence for the ‘norm’ and a work ethic like most can only imagine. I wish Luna the best and feel lucky to have been given a glimpse into his world.

Jamie Smith, a man who I met in 2010 while attending a week long class by Greg Gorman has remained in contact and become my friend. Jamie worked with the famous Jay Maisel for over 10 years in NYC and now runs Social Fabric Collective. “Social Fabric Collective is a non-profit organization that provides professional photography equipment, education and inspiration to high school students who are as diverse as they are dynamic.”

Earlier in 2018 Jamie asked if I would be interested in speaking to his class of young high school students about my view of photography. Prior to becoming a full time pro I was in the field of training at the corporate level. Even back then I HATED/LOATHED/WAS DISGUSTED by PowerPoint or rather how people attempt to utilize PP. So I opted to do my hour long lesson old school, with paper that students read and actual photographs they could hold and view. As a training professional I know that a self paced lesson lends itself to much more retention. I know that so many people today like video because ‘it’s easy’ meaning it’s passive. And it’s NOT self paced, especially in a classroom environment.

So I thought I would post what I presented in the event it helps others pick and choose parts of my syllabus to teach others. The first part was handing out a printed form of this:

“July 17 2018 – Palo Alto CA

Hi my name is Mark and I’m a full time professional photographer. Prior to this life I was a trainer for Sony Playstation, a 3D animator and back then some of my clients included Johns Hopkins University, Estee Lauder, Nike, Bausch and Lomb, and DHL.

Photography tends to be a solitary activity and although I have no idea why you decided to enter this course I will assume that you have in interest in creating imagery. The type of imagery everyone wants to create is as varied as the number of people in the world. Today, everyone is a photographer, whether we’re talking about the ever present ‘selfies’ (ugh) or taking photos with whatever you have at the time. Photography is a satisfying pursuit, and I have found it is my lifelong endeavor. My preference is photographing people – dancers, actors and musicians. In reality I use a camera just to meet people.

It’s kind of easy to get into the ‘tech trap’ wondering what is the best camera, the best lens, the best light, the best camera bag. You get the picture. My personal view is to not allow myself to get hung up on that aspect of this life. It’s easy to see if you peruse photography forums, heck forums of any kind. There are always haters, boasters, see ME! types. Always discussing gear, what is the BEST, blah blah blah. But what is so apparent are the haters seldom if EVER post photos they’ve created other than silly test shots. Buying expensive things does not make an expert or an artist.

It’s also easy (and in most cases necessary) to focus solely on the technical aspects of photography. F stops, depth of field, shutter speed, sync speed, ISO noise, blah blah blah blah blah. But there are literally TONS of sites and Google searches we can do to find that info. And yes those elements are important but what I want to try to pass on to all of you today is what took me a long time to learn for myself….the art ofseeing.

My epiphany happened when I was watching an Argentine Tango performance and became captivated by the light, the movement and the shadow. Those elements didn’t need a camera to be appreciated and were not the elements that made me a photographer. Nope, it was all about looking at the world in a way I had not encountered before. Instead of just looking – I would view a scene, a person, an object as a story. As I looked upon a sunset, a sunrise, a beautiful scene, an interesting or beautiful face, a tragedy, an object of any kind, my mind would begin to formulate a story about what I was viewing. I’d identify the feeling I’d emote while looking at the person, object or scene. I’d notice the light, how it fell upon the scene/person/object and how the light made me feel, how the shadows played against the light. The EMOTIONS I was feeling as I focused my gaze.

It went even further. I began to associate imagery with senses not normally associated with a picture. The smell of a sunset, the taste of a rock, the music I would hear in an expression. It was then that I began to notice that my photographs turned into much more than just a ‘pretty picture.’Without a story, without feeling, a nice photograph is just a pretty picture. Some of my favorite imagery by artists I admire are underexposed, overexposed or blurry. But it’s the FEELING and STORY of the image that moves it from nice to fantastic to memorable.

Immerse yourself in the moment. I found that looking at the back of my camera while I’m out and about often meant that the truly GREAT shot was missed because I was paying attention to the wrong thing, the past, not the moment. There’s plenty of time to appreciate or loathe the image you shot…..later.

All art is about FEELING and STORY. Focus on the elements that don’t depend upon a camera so that when you have one in your hand, you will create something incredible. Be patient and watch. Observe, listen, smell, taste and touch. It will make your work rich beyond what you could have imagined.

Once each student was done reading the handout, I gave them an envelop with 10 photos and 10 index cards with these instructions:

Instructions

In this pack are ten images along with ten index cards. The images have a number written on the back of them. On the index card I would like you to

Write the image number you are viewing on the index card

Write a title for the image

Write the Feeling you get when viewing the image

Turn the card over

Write your story of the image

Do this for each image, so in the end you should have ten index cards with a Title, Story and Feeling

When you are done, raise your hand

Here are the ten images that were contained in the envelop:

_PEN2154-Edit

01DX0999-Edit

1M2_9612-Edit

DSCF1103-Edit

MKitaoka_120517_6802

MKitaoka_120531_9579

MKitaoka_130827_4646-Edit

MKitaoka_160319_-13

MNK_2894

Tracy3rd_20070728_0146-Edit

I then had all ten of the images posted at the front of the class with the corresponding numbers on envelops below each image. I asked each student to place their corresponding index card into those envelops. I asked each student to read all of the other cards to see how people view images differently. Unless you go to galleries with others or those who have also attended it’s tough to hear what others think of the very same image. What that does is it allows people to understand that everyone brings their own bias or experience in viewing any image or painting. It ‘opens your eyes’ to the view of others.

I also asked each student to text me their favorite photo. It didn’t need to be taken with their phones, but they must select one favorite image. I printed out each of the photos and made a lanyard so they could hang their favorite image around their neck….backwards. Each student sat in front of the class facing the whiteboard while the other students voiced how they each felt about the photo and what the story was for the image. The student who took the photo just listened, no feedback was allowed be it verbal or physical in nature. This allows each student to hear other people’s impression of their work. It gives them a window into how people perceive what they’ve created. That is an important part of learning in the creative arts. For the two students who didn’t send a photo I believe they missed an opportunity not often offered.

And finally I had a Q/A session where each of the students could ask me questions about photography.

Earlier this month while was using my Mavic to both film and photograph for a client, I was flying sideways and ended up crashing into a tree! Total user error and thankfully it was at the very end of the sessions!LUCKILY I had purchased DJI Care Refresh (Mavic Pro) when I bought the drone. They allow you to purchase the coverage within the first 48 hours of purchase. For 99.00 on a 1k item it’s a great value. But just like all insurance the REAL TEST comes when you make a claim. Any company will gladly take your premiums, but filing a claim is a different story. So I got onto the site, filled out the form and guess what? They emailed me a FedEx label! That’s right, they pay for shipping to and from! Incredible. The cost for my ‘repair’ was 79.00. And IF I crash again it will be 129.00! Now this does not cover things like theft, losing your drone, etc. Makes perfect sense. But in my case I could not be happier and DJI has a loyal customer for life.

A brand new Mavic arrived at my home to replace my crashed unit. Total time: 8 days. And no the more quiet props were not included. BUT they DID include a set of regular props even though I didn’t send in any.

UPDATE November 11 2017

Still practicing and boy to get cinematic film ain’t easy. But hey if it was everyone could do it! It sure is fun to learn though. Using ND filters really helps.

It’s also nice to know that the Mavic can take RAW stills in the form of the DNG format. Granted not as high res as my MF camera, but still good! What I did learn though is when I set my shutter speed at a low number, usually around 1/125th or lower when I take stills that have motion I get motion blur. Makes perfect sense, I’m just not accustomed to switching from film to stills. Learnings…..

Original Post

Yep, it was time. Time to try something new, to feel uncomfortable and out of my comfort zone. Film, stills, creativity from a new perspective. How does anyone expect to grow simply by being ‘safe?’ FAA certification is on tap. Using light and motion….

I’m proud to have been named as a Finalist in the 2018 OneEyeland B/W awards under Nudes. I’m especially thrilled since Howard Schatz was one of the judges. I’ve LONG admired his work so I’m honored! My submission was one of the images I created for my “Tango in the Mohave” series with Eva and Patricio.

I am proud to have been awarded Finalist status in the Professional Fine Arts Nude category of the 2017 One Eyeland Photography Awards for my “Tango in Water” submission. Five images make up my series of tango images. Shot in Seattle in studio using water to accentuate the delicious movement of Argentine Tango.

This month I have several sessions where I will use the focusing arm with my Elinchrom 69″ Rotalux Octabox. Elinchrom sells their Elinchrom 75″ Indirect Litemotiv Octa Softbox which is an inverted modifier. But unlike using a focusing arm the strobe is confined to a set distance from the modifier. Oh and not to mention it’s about $1100.00 USD more expensive than my 69’r!

The Eli 69″ with my focusing rod.

Fully flooded the light distribution is incredibly even! The real test will be during my first shoot, but I am convinced at how incredible the light quality will be.

Over the past two weeks I have been giving my new virtual friend Ulysses my experience using focusing rod modifiers. We’ve gone back and forth over FB Messenger as I answered some of his questions and concerns. It was during this time I realized that some people may not have any idea how a focusing arm paired with a parabolic or other modifier would benefit them. So instead of answering another email I decided to post this (My last post of 2017 btw) to benefit anyone who may have questions about focusing arm modifiers, their benefits and downsides. But are put off by their prices.

I found what I view as one of the most informative lessons on some of the benefits of a focusing rod on a YouTube channel. Karl Taylor and Urs Recher, two pro fashion shooters do an excellent job explaining the benefits of focusing arm modifiers. You can view that video here.

If you begin to watch the video and think or say to yourself “Oh sure if I had the money to buy a $7,000 Broncolor Para 222 Mark I could do anything!”STOP READING NOW and go about your usual business.

I’ve posted elsewhere why I have switched to focusing arms modifiers and this post is about how you can do it with relatively simple ease. And just as important for a fraction of the cost of Broncolor, Briese or Parabolix. Of course the shape of the modifier you use will have a bearing on your results, but unlike people alleging you ‘have to have’ a pure parabolic shape I disagree based on my own actual usage. I love my Parabolix 35D, my Cononmark 120cm and my Westcott Zeppelins which I use with a focusing arm.

The best thing to do is to buy a Parabolix focusing arm from their site. They use a standard Profoto attachment to mount their modifiers to the focusing arm. The arm is excellent and well made. To attach the arm to any Bowens modifier you simply purchase a Haoge Profoto to Bowens Mount Speedring Ring Adapter.

Viola! You now have a focusing arm that will work with any Bowens modifier! And you don’t have to go through the crazy fabrications like I did when I built my first one. (I just like doing that kinda stuff tho….)

Prior to figuring out that method I fabricated all kinds of things! My other solution was to purchase a Cheetahstand Chop Stick and modify it to accept a Bowens modifier. It took some doing and it works well. Someone mentioned that Edward at Cheetahstand stated that his Chop Stick will work with most Bowens mount modifiers and that’s true….to a point.

The ring on the top is the Cheetahstand Rice Bowl Bracket. The one on the bottom is the Westcott Zeppelin bracket. As you can see Cheetahstand’s bracket uses a proprietary size for the rod tips which are much smaller than the tips from other manufacturers. This makes using his ring impossible with other brand’s modifiers.

Sure his bracket fits a Bowens mount, but how do you attach it to a lightstand? So TECHNICALLY it’s true that his Chop Stick fits Bowens modifiers, BUT there’s no way to mount the stick to a light stand unless you’re using one of his modifiers and mounting bracket.

Left, Cheetahstand’s Birdcage 13 oz, right is the Parabolix 23 oz. They are interchangeable in function. The Chop Stick Birdcage is a third of the price too.

Back of the Chopstick’s arm mount. The knob at the top controls the tension of the device on the arm. The knob at 4:00 releases it from the Bowens mount. This is the heaviest part of the Chop Stick’s configuration.

Mounting side.

The arms of both the Chop Stick and Parabolix are about the same length.

The Chop Stick has a nice eyelet on the back of the actual stick for counterbalancing. But I find it much more convenient to use a SuperClamp and 90 degree arm to hold my AD600 when using the light weight head. Raising and lowering the modifier with the weight of a counterweight is often a pain in the ass. I mount the holder BELOW the first section of the risers. Great leverage here. This method works very well. Just FYI

For travel it’s a toss up. My DIY Cheetahstand Chop Stick with mount weighs a total of 4 pounds 13 ounces including the rod. The Parabolix weighs 3 pounds 15 ounces. For space the Chop Stick comes apart thereby having the ability to save space when packing. Not so with the Parabolix arm. Weight or space? It’s up to your needs. The Bird Cages which hold the lights are not included in these weights, but I have described their weight above.

So there you have it. This will be my last post about how to develop your own focusing rod. I have sessions to cover and don’t really have the motivation to talk more about this subject. I post this in case you want to do it as well.

Original Post

As I was growing up my father was always in the garage tinkering. During his lifetime he was a professional auto mechanic who was in a partnership in a Mobil Gas station. I’d work there in the summertime when full service was the norm. Later he became a civil engineer. He and I shared lots of good times in our home garage building things which were usually motors or crazy inventions. One of the aspects of life he taught me early on was “Boy there are people who will bitch that someone hasn’t invented or built this or that. Or they’ll bitch about how something is designed. Basically they’ll bitch about anything instead of trying to figure out how to fix it or inventing something themselves. Don’t listen to those assholes, if you need something that ain’t around, figure out how to build it and build it. I’m not raising no bitch, so just remember that!”

To this day I’m not sure if I never wanted to be ‘a bitch’ or I just plain enjoy figuring out how to do things. It’s one of the main reasons I HAVE TO HAVE a garage. Not to store shit people never use, but to fabricate things. I find it relaxing. And I must admit that my former racing motorcycle which is now the world’s most expensive towel rack does sit in my “Man Cave.” I just can’t bring myself to sell “Ashley.”

Anyway I’ve written elsewhere on this blog that I adore focusing arm modifiers. I won’t go into all of the reasons, but one of the most frustrating things is every single manufacturer of focusing arm modifiers makes it so that their arm only works with their modifiers. Broncolor, Parabolix, Briese, Cheetahstand, Westcott, you name it, they can’t be used with other modifiers. I did find out that the Parabolix line of focusing arms will work with any Profoto mount. Their focusing arm uses the same attachment as Profoto so if one purchases a Parabolix focusing arm it will fit any modifier that uses a Profoto mount.

But many of my modifiers are now Bowens mounts. It’s my preferred modifier mount since I exclusively use Flashpoint/Godox strobes/heads now. As I examined Cheetahstand’s Chop Stick I discovered that I could modify his focusing arm so that it will allow me to attach ANY Bowens mount modifier to the focusing arm! It took quite a bit of modification and a bit of cussing, but now I have a focusing arm that will accept any Bowens modifier INCLUDING HARD MODIFIERS. What? WTF you may be thinking, hard modifiers Mark? Well I’m gonna try them and will report back later. Why not?!

I’m sure some people will ask questions like “Will it support the full weight of X or Y strobe?” What about if the modifier is not a true parabola?” To the first question, I’m not sure and I don’t really care because I’m not a manufacturer of this for retail. I made it to solve a problem. I plan to always use the remote head for the AD600. As for the second question, who cares?

Yep that’s a 7″ cone on the end just to illustrate that a hard modifier will fit on the focusing arm. I plan to use a PCB 18″ Omni to see how the quality of light changes with a hard modifier.

The Cheetahstand Bowens light holder.

LOL crazy!

I think Edward’s Rice Bowl present an excellent value, but I already have a 47 and 59″ Zeppelin so I’d rather use them with a focusing arm than purchase more modifiers that are similar in shape.

Every morning I go out to my patio to turn on the water feature because the hummingbirds like it. They drink and bathe in it very often. On the ground I see a small “something” and just then a hummingbird flies around the ‘thing‘ and I see that it’s a baby male! My gf comes out, picks him up and warms him with her hands. And just after I take a few ‘portraits’ of him, he flies away. Making a normal morning something very special!

Sometimes in my infinite idiotic wisdom I purchase something because I can’t afford something else. I use that item for a while and then it sits on the shelf for a bit. This has been my buying using pattern for quite some time, like I said I can be an idiot.

Such was the case when I purchased a Saberstrip light modifier. I had rented a Westcott IceLight and had a great experience with it, but at $499.00 it seemed a bit too steep in price for a constant light source I would only use occasionally. (I ended up buying two of them later, but that’s for another post.) Like everyone else I began searching the web for alternatives to the IceLight and found the Saberstrip. Unlike the IceLight the Saberstrip uses a handheld flash as its light source.

My X100S and the TCL X100 (yes I made the little Fuji look crummy on purpose!)

I own a Fuji X100S and formerly owned their X100. For my commercial work it is a remarkable tool for the right situation. I use the X100S for personal use since it has so many features I enjoy. I normally don’t write reviews until I’ve had whatever I’m reviewing for a few months, but in this case I’m making an exception. I ordered and purchased my TCL-100 off Amazon through a third party retailer at the street price of 349.00. I had seen retailers from Japan selling the unit prior to its release, but was not willing to pay what they were asking. Although my X100S is silver I really didn’t care that the lens for sale was black. I’ve purposely made my little Fuji look crummy with gaff and grip tape. My clients laugh whenever I bring it out on a commercial shoot. They call it “Mark’s little beat up instamatic,” but after seeing the results never complain about its use for their work.

When most of us attend Open Studios, we look at the art. When photographer Mark Kitaoka attended an Open Studio weekend at the Peninsula Museum of Art in Burlingame, which rents studio space to artists, he looked at the artists’ hands. And he thought of photographing the hands of the artists, at work.

In late January 2014 I was contacted by Cristine Kelly, the Marketing Director for Music in the Mountains, a symphonic company nestled in the gorgeous foothills of Nevada City, CA. Cristine, or more accurately her husband had found my work while searching the web for his Christmas present from Cristine, a Fuji X100S. I had written a short article about using the Fuji in some of my commercial work. He saw the imagery I had created for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and yelled down to Cristine, “Honey, you need to look at this. I think this is the guy you’ve been searching for to shoot your Company!”

Cristine wanted her new Season Brochure to reflect the beauty of the surrounding area, so we discussed an on location shoot with costumes for the various performances her Company had planned for their upcoming season. Orchestras around the country are discovering that the ‘tried and true’ (I refer to that style as “Tired and Yawning”) photography, be it stock or shot for their specific needs, requires change to remain relevant. Rather than performance photos of musician’s clad in tuxedos and evening gowns, publicity imagery for music should reflect the emotionit conveys rather than what musician’s look like when they play. For most patrons, they know what they will see once they arrive. What they go for is for what they’ll experience and FEEL. Transmitting the feeling of an aural piece into something visual was my job.

In January 2014 I photographed publicity imagery for Village Theatre‘s 2014-15 Season Brochure marketing materials. Some was done against seamless, others done on location. We were able to collaborate with the Company’s principles on concepts and messaging prior to beginning the shoot which made a huge difference in consistent messaging and impact. This was a wonderful experience of complete collaboration.

In order to put an entire marketing campaign together it first takes vision. The Marketing VP at Dallas Symphony Orchestra had a very specific vision for his 2014-15 Season Brochure. His concept was to carry a “Date Night” theme throughout his brochure, creating an experience which would attract new as well as existing patrons. He also wanted a theatrical and dream like quality to the individual performances, one that matched each symphonic piece.

Keep in mind that whenever you’re hired to create commercial imagery there is quite a bit at stake. Beyond your own reputation, there’s the talent, scheduling, venue logistics, graphics gurus, administrative help, travel, blah, blah blah. And although an Art Director may have a specific shot they have in their own minds, it’s up to the photographer to execute that vision, one that often only exists in the AD’s mind.

I’m always surprised how the majority of posts on photography forums focus primarily on ‘gear’ and ‘which is better.’ It’s as if most people are vapor locked on what type of gear they purchase rather than improving their own skills. Yes, we all wish to improve our craft in creating images and gear is a part of that equation, but the amount of effort and discussion seems to focus on the exact opposite of what would improve one’s own creation of photos. If the amount of effort on gear was placed into other areas, ah but I digress….

Like most photographers be they pro or amateur, all of us know the excitement of getting what we think is a great shot and the desire to share it as soon as possible. In this digital age that means displaying your work through some sort of social media or other form of immediate gratification.

But in the commercial photography world, immediate gratification takes a back seat to business needs and NDAs. So much of what we shoot commercially is shot with extended lead times to be of any value. Marketing materials are carefully planned months or in some cases years in advance. As such, once the shots are in the bag it’s up to the client to decide on the imagery’s strategic timing for public release. And because of that we’re not allowed to display those images on our own sites or through social media. And by the time the images are released publicly we’ve been on to other projects for months. Whenever I receive a client’s marketing materials, I’ve often forgot that I shot that session!

I have two separate client sessions in this article. One was for Dallas Symphony Orchestra and another was for Village Theatre’s publicity for Les Miserables.

Dallas Symphony’s Beets Campaign

The photos I display here were taken in July 2013 and released to the public in late Fall of 2013, about four months after I shot the “Beets Campaign” (Beethoven Festival) for Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Performances begin April 28 2014, almost 9 full months from when I originally shot the session.

About two months prior to the shoot, the VP of Marketing along with some of the Marketing staff and I began a conversation about the overall look, feel and messaging they wished to achieve with the imagery. Rather than presenting musician’s in tuxedos playing music, the VP wanted a much more ‘scandalous’ look, one that coincided with the public’s reaction to Beethoven’s music in that actual time period. When written and performed his music was actually quite scandalous to the audience of that time. Music is all about emotion and the VP wanted a reaction to his campaign that would evoke emotion…and boy it certainly did and in a very good way!

We agreed that on location sessions would be much more effective than shooting the talent in front of seamless and then dropping them into graphics treatments. On location (I refer to them as ‘onlo’) is my favorite type of publicity shooting. Why? Well it forces me to be creative in developing the imagery by not counting on graphics folks to make the imagery have production value. The right location with the right lighting has a richness that just can’t quite be replicated with graphics. Well at least that’s my opinion… Plus I have to be both patient and think quickly on my feet about what the client wants and how I will execute it. The client developed Mood Boards and sent them to me so we could begin discussions on exactly the mood we wished to create for the campaign.

Most non pros have the impression that commercial shooters are able to scout locations months or weeks in advance and carefully plan out the angles, lighting and time of day to shoot. For me that happens on rare occasions and when that happens it’s a true luxury. But in this case the VP simply said, “I’d like to shoot it over at the AT&T Center, I like the juxtapose of a modern building combined with period piece costumes we’re using. We can look around at the locations when you get here.” For all of these shots I had about ten minutes to scout each location around the building and then decide how I was going to light them and shoot them. Should I use natural light? Which camera will be the best for this job? If I need more contrast how many negative reflectors should I use? Do I want motion blur in the image, if so should I drag the shutter or use second curtain sync with a Speedlight? What gels if any do I need to match the ambient? Oh I’m shooting in front of windows, how will I place the light/reflectors/etc. so I don’t get reflections or bounce off the windows I don’t want? (No I’m not of the school that all those things can be ‘corrected’ in post. Getting it right in camera is my preferred method) ALL of these decisions are made quickly because we don’t often if ever have the luxury of time. If you’ve never been ‘the talent’ or the art director, try getting IN FRONT of the camera and you’ll see what YOU consider to be a short amount of time while you are making your adjustments can seem like an eternity to your subject.

Beethoven Festival Brochure Mailer

Shot with a single PCB Einstein through a 52″ parabolic reflector

Five PCB Einsteins used to light this. Key light shot through a 12×12′ scrim off to camera right.

A single Canon Speedlight shot through a 61″ parabolic to obtain the motion blur using second curtain sync

Four PCB Einsteins used. One beauty dish to camera left, one Einstein to camera right in order to illuminate her hair and two key lights to camera right. Keeping reflections off the windows here was key.

Original shot for building banner. Shot with a Fuji X100S, a single Einstein through at 51″ parabolic high specular modifier.

18×80 foot building banner

Les Miserables Publicity

This publicity session was what I called my “First Date” with this client for publicity. I had been previously hired by them to shoot production of another performance, but had never been hired to do publicity. The Marketing Director had seen some of my onlo publicity imagery for other clients and thought it would be great to do one for their production of Les Miz. In this case we took a day to drive around the area to look for just the right setting. I knew that the location needed to replicate the script, stone walls, old wooden doors etc. As we drove around the area I found a couple of “OK” locations, but nothing that really floated by boat.

So I made a call to my partner back in the Bay Area. We normally work together, but since we were double booked (when you’re self employed I call that a ‘pretty girl problem!’) she was back home covering another client’s session. I asked her to get on the Web to look for an old church or rock quarry. In about ten minutes she called back and said “All of the churches close to you are modern and won’t do for what you’re looking for. I checked out a rock quarry very close to you on Google Earth. I can’t tell because the view is from their satellite shot straight down, but it looks like a a great possible for you. Here’s the address. Gotta run, heading to the client shoot, good luck.”

So the Marketing Director and I drove over to the rock quarry and I IMMEDIATELY fell in love with the venue. We spoke with the owner and he was more than willing to allow us to shoot there on the date we wanted for a couple of tickets to the performance. He even went on to say that if our date was when they were closed, he’d be happy to come in and open the place up for us.

So on the day of the shoot the weather was projected to be rain. The Marketing Director called me and said “Mark, what do we do if it rains, I’m nervous!?” I simply said, “If you can have three people there with umbrellas you don’t have to worry.” My plan was to have those three stand over my strobes with their umbrellas so that strobes and power packs were protected. I was actually hoping it would rain because I felt it would add to the ambient atmosphere of the shot and I’ve shot with my 1DX in full rain without a problem. On the day of the shoot, it did rain, but only lightly and the cloud cover was PERFECT for the session. For you gear heads I used PCB Einsteins and his Vagabond Mini power packs. Paul’s lighting is my preferred studio strobe equipment.

Shot with two PCB Einsteins. Behind Greg is a parking lot full of cars and trucks. Shot a light with a cone modifier through the arch to reduce ambient behind him and blacken out the parking lot. Key light is a single Einstein held camera left high by an assistant. Shot with a variable ND filter set to -6 stops with a 1DX

Single Einstein used through a specular modifier, Elinchrom deep octa camera right held by an assistant. (voice activated light stand!)

Single Einstein with cone reflector. Negative reflector to camera left. Variable ND filter used on a 1DX set to -4 stops

Two Einsteins. One shot from behind the subject with a cone to reduce office ambient and to produce the dramatic shadow. Second key light to camera left shot through an Elinchrom deep octa. I wet the pavement to add reflection to the shot.

Being patient means KNOWING your equipment front to back, no matter what type of camera/lighting you’re using. Your client could care less if you’re using a Nikon, Canon, Fuji or other camera or whether you’re a Profoto fan or Uncle Bob’s strobe user. They could care less if you’re a full frame guy or gal, use a cropped sensor or not. The PICTURE tells the story and how well you know how to think on your feet, exhibit creativity on the run, keep the talent engaged and get a photo better than they ever imagined are elements that separate the men from the fan boys!

Whether you shoot for your entire income, are a ‘semi pro’ or just shoot for the pure enjoyment of the craft, be patient. For me that means taking the time to truly know your gear, all of it. Practice, read, experiment and have fun with what you already have. I get as much fun as the next guy when I want to buy something new. But the real difference is how I USE my gear, not what brand it is or its stats. To a client In the commercial world, you’re only as good as your last session. They’ve trusted me with their whole marketing campaign based on my shooting style and consistency in delivering a great product. Practice, know your existing gear and develop a body of work. One great shot leads to a second great shot. The difference between a good or nice shot and a great one is huge. And that comes only through forced patience.

I often say that cameras are just like any other tool, sometimes you need a hammer, sometimes you need a wrench. While shooting for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra I noticed an infinity pool located on their property. Technically the pool belongs to the AT&T building, but for me that was just a technicality! I kept hounding the DSO’s VP of Marketing that “We just have to do a shoot in that pool!” I think he figured I’d never stop hounding him so on one Fall day in 2013 he let me know that “We’re doing it Mark!” WOOHOO I thought to myself until he told me that we’d be shooting right around every photographer’s least favorite time, high noon. UGH so much for getting what you wish for… One of the differences between commercial photography and doing it as a hobby is you HAVE to make due with the cards dealt and make it look GREAT. There’s money and your reputation at stake. Remember to a client you’re only as good as your last session.

I was out in the pool only fifteen minutes before the talent arrived, 13 of DSO’s best musicians including their Concert Master who was carrying his 300 year old 5 million dollar Stradivarius violin! I almost had a heart attack as he was holding THE violin in one hand AND while standing on one leg as he was trying to roll his other pant leg up. In total there must have been over 20 million dollars worth of instruments on that pool of WATER. No it’s not deep, but that didn’t quell my nervousness.

I had planned to reduce the ambient on my 1DX by using a variable ND filter since I was using two PCB Einsteins, one with a beauty dish attached and the other with a 64″ PLM Soft Silver parabolic. I was using the PLM as my key light and the beauty dish as the fill since it was not only noon, but windy that day. Try as I did I could not get the ambient down low enough using the ND filter, it reduced my flash power lower than I wanted. So it was time to put away the ‘hammer’ and bring out the ‘wrench.’

So I went into my bag to get my trusty X100S. You see I purchased this little unit specifically for its leaf shutter. In case you aren’t aware leaf shutters don’t follow the same rules as focal plane shutters, you can use flash to almost an unlimited sync speed based on the camera. Remember that hand held flash units that use High Speed Sync are different than using strobes. HSS pulses the light so that their DSLRs can shoot at ‘high shutter speeds.’ (which in turn greatly reduces their overall power)

I killed the noon day ambient with the X100S by shooting at a shutter speed of 1/2000th of a second at f4.5 ISO 200. Just like that I had the exposure I wanted for the shot. In this case I found that using a ‘wrench’ instead of a ‘hammer’ was the right tool for the job. This was my second time using the little Fuji for the DSO and I could not be happier. My other shot can be seen here.

Publicity photography for Oakland School for the Arts – Dance Emphasis. These images feature seniors from their 2014 Class. This is my third year working with this remarkable company. They are choreographed and coached by Reginald-Ray Savage and Alison Hurley.